It hit 104 degrees at the Empire Polo Club in Indio Saturday but country music fans could find the cool wherever they went. From the Mane Stage to the smaller Palomino and Mustang venues, performers braved the sweltering heat to put on the coolest shows of the the three-day festival so far.

Hipsters from Brooklyn, rockers from Riverside, an icon from Hollywood and showman from Mississippi provided an eclectic mix of sounds and vibes. The Stagecoach experience changed from set to set, stage to stage. But it all made up what is country music in 2013.

Throughout the day, the smaller stages offered one rich music experience after another.

The Honky Tonk Angels Band, from the Inland Empire, had clearly been on the circuit for a few years, playing a tight set of Hillbilly Rockabilly.

They did country romance their way.

"My baby's gone and I don't give a (hoot)," went one song. And they crooned about having the "Bad Girl Blues."

A charismatic curiosity named Nick 13 packed in retro-dressed fans whose stylishness was topped only by the musician himself. Nick 13 was clad in a rhinestone-studded seafoam green suit and had the glitzy camp of El Vez.

Just try to classify his brand of "psychobilly" — Nick 13 has performed at such diverse festivals as South By Southwest, the Warped Tour and Stagecoach. Twice.

Playing their first festival, The Lone Bellow came to Indio via the South. Southern New York City, that is. The Brooklyn-based trio is registering on the hipster music radar on both coasts, with a banjo-less Mumford & Sons sound.

Also far from Nashville, was ultra-cool crooner Dwight Yoakam, who was announced as being from Hollywood. A movie star in his own right, the thousands of fans that packed into the Palomino Stage area were nontheless there to hear his unique warbling and hip honky tonk urban cowboy sound.

The overflow crowd sang and danced to his numerous hits; Yoakam has sold over 25 million records during his three decades as one of country's most enduring iconoclasts.

On the other end of the musical spectrum was Mississippi native Marty Stuart, a country traditionalist whose command of the guitar was equaled by his slick showmanship.

A smooth talking Southerner, Stuart — clad in all black like his musical hero Johnny Cash — hooted and howled through his hard charging set that included the standout song "The Whiskey 'Aint Working Any More."

Bringing his wife, silky-voiced Connie Smith, onstage, Stuart told a story about how he was 12 when he first saw Smith perform. He wore yellow to the show so she'd notice him and predicted his future.

"I told my mama 'when I grow up I'm going to marry Connie Smith.' It took me 25 years but I did it."

When he sang "Country Music's Got a Hold on Me," he was speaking for all of the 55,000 people at Stagecoach Saturday.